Some people say their food never tastes as good as mine, even when they follow my recipe to the letter. I say, “You’re not cooking it with love…”

Monday, January 28, 2008

Beef Dip Sandwiches Drenched With Love

This recipe was inspired by a Rachel Ray recipe that's quite similar. Only, I use a roast of beef instead of roast beef deli lunch meat so mine isn't exactly ready in thirty minutes. It's worth the effort though as this beef dip or French dip or Beef Dip Au Jus sandwich is very lovely!

Here's how I do it:

Cook Your Roast Beef at 350 for about 2-2.5 hours. You'll have covered it with spices and every thirty minutes or so poured a 1/4 cup of tea into the pan to keep it juicy. Make sure you cook it covered.

Shave the meat really thin when it's done but be sure you've tented it for 10-15 minutes before slicing.

Before it's done make your au jus. Start with a skillet with some butter and some finely chopped onion (just about a 1/4 of a small onion) and then add a teaspooon of flour. Stir continously until it's thick. Then add a few cups of beef stock and some brewed black tea. Then add some more butter and some Beef Bovril until it looks like a really thin gravy.

After you've taken your meat out of the pan, add your au jus to the roasting pan and turn up to medium and start scraping the pan and stirring it all together. Your jus along with the beef drippings will make a lovely juice. You might add a little more butter, a little more beef stock or tea to get the consistency you like.As the meat is shaved, put it in the roasting pan and drench it so it's covered and simmers for a few minutes.

Warm some pannini rolls and layer your meat on top. I like to put sauteed onions, peppers and mushrooms in the sandwich as well with a sprinkling of a mixture of mozzarella, parmasean, provolone and asiago but any yellow shredded cheese will do.

Have some au jus on the side for dipping and be sure to have plenty of serviettes for your chin . The perfect companion for this dish is my famous French onion soup which works well for dipping if you've run out of au jus too.